Group communication technologies on the Internet allow users with common interest to collaborate, share files, chat with one another, multi-cast audio and video for presentations and group meetings, and engage in multi-player gaming. Indeed, the ability for group formation in an ad hoc basis present significant advantages to allow users with common interests to gather in a virtual area or group that may be segregated from the general Internet population thereby facilitating useful discussion in collaboration between such like minded individuals. Currently, however, most group communication and formation takes place in a server centric environment whereby all communication flows to or through large central servers to which individuals may connect to join and participate in the group.
With the reemergence of peer-to-peer technology, the current server centric model of Internet communication is quickly being replaced. Indeed, peer-to-peer technologies enable users to contact one another in a serverless environment, free from the constraints of server based Internet communication. In a peer-to-peer based system, a users anominity and privacy may be maintained since communication occurs directly between peers within the network. However, while individual communication and file sharing is relatively well established in peer-to-peer networks, establishing, discovering, joining, maintaining, and sharing information in a group peer-to-peer environment is not well established. However, individuals have grown accustomed to the benefits provided by such grouping technology in the server centric environment. Therefore, a need exists for technology that allows both the benefits of peer-to-peer technologies and grouping technologies to be realized in the serverless environment that is peer-to-peer.
As with a server centric environment, groups may be entirely open to allow Internet file searching and sharing within groups. Network location based groups that are typically groups of computers sharing the same access point in a conference room or groups of computers behind a firewall are another type of group known in the server centric world. Additionally, password defined groups allowing for private communication/collaboration within the group, such as secure conference room groups, in home networking groups are also known. External groups, such as NT domain based groups and groups of passport users also exists. Finally, voting based groups that are engoverned by peer reputation based systems where peers are voted in and out are also known. Therefore, the existence of similar groups within the peer-to-peer serverless environment are also desired.
However, because peer-to-peer networks are formed as a graph of distributed users or peers, it is necessary that group communication be passed to one peer to another before all peers within a network may become cognizant of the shared information. Systems that provide such routing include Usenet and OSPF. However, such current systems suffer from limitations that have, to date, limited the full development of group peer-to-peer technology. Additionally, peer-to-peer networks currently suffer from a lack of adequate graph management that, at times allows the graphs to “break” or become split when one of the members leaves the group. In such an instance, information from one half of the group may no longer be passed to peer members on the other side of the partition created by the departure of one of the peers. As a further disadvantage, no adequate mechanism exists for the detection of such partition.
There exists, therefore, a need in the art for a peer-to-peer security framework that addresses the above-described threats at a group level that can adversely affect the peer-to-peer group.